Features of the qualification of the act related to the risk as a circumstance that excludes the criminal illegality of the act in the medical field

Abstract

The authors explored the concept of "risk", the peculiarities of its interpretation. It has been determined that risk-taking is not new to the science of criminal law, but there is still no single approach to interpreting the above term. A special article of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which regulates this issue, contains only the general characteristics of such an act, and the features and criteria for its application are left to the discretion of law enforcement agencies. Given the particular circumstances of each case, they must conclude as to whether the actions of the person contained an urgent need to act risky, whether it was possible to achieve the same goal in a less risky or non-risky way was impossible. The authors also emphasize that in order for an act to be qualified as being committed in conditions of justified risk, it is necessary that a specific life situation testifies to it, and the person acts only to achieve a socially useful goal. It should be noted that in such a situation, the goal set by the subject could not be achieved in any other way, avoiding the risk, and the actions of the person must be commensurate with the danger in which the interests protected by law. In addition, the authors consider the relationship between the concepts of "extreme necessity" and "action associated with risk", highlight their common features and analyze the differences. Thus, in case of extreme necessity, a person does not have the opportunity to choose another behavior other than one that harms law enforcement interests. Failure to perform a risk act will not necessarily cause harm at all. In addition, the risk can be considered justified if there is an opportunity rather than an obligation to achieve a socially useful goal.